It’s less than a month away, so we are going to have to talk about plans for Christmas, and I am looking for input from you. The big day is on Thursday this year. I can’t get a delivery from my supplier before Tuesday 23rd, so my plan is to drop orders off to you on Christmas Eve, even though I would rather have kept that day free for shopping. So my question is, will you want a delivery as normal on Thurs/ Fri 18th/19th and one again on the 24th? If you do, I will need both orders by the evening of Tuesday 16th, with the second order clearly marked Christmas Order in the comments box. If however you think that a Christmas Eve delivery is surplus to requirements, or if you think that the 18th/19th drop off is unnecessary please let me know. I suspect that I know the answer to my question, but humour me anyway.

It begs the question, when am I going to do my Christmas shopping? Maybe tomorrow? No, I’m going to the council tip in the morning with a van full of accumulated toot, and I just won’t be in the right frame of mind to trudge aimlessly around shops looking like a gormless dolt. Perhaps the following Monday? Or I could break with convention and do a Tuesday? And do I do Bury or Cambridge? Bury is more compact, and parking is easier, and whilst it’s expensive it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg like it does in Cambridge. So perhaps that decision is made; I’m making progress.

That’s funny, I lit the woodburner 20 minutes ago, it was roaring away so I put another log on it, but got a bit too close to the flames and singed the hairs on my fingers! 😀 They don’t ‘arf pen and ink. Don’t worry, I didn’t burn myself, but maybe I should exercise a little more caution in future.

It was a week of recovery after being poorly, so I didn’t over exert myself. I’m still not altogether better, the old tight chest is persisting, but I don’t feel too bad, and it’s not keeping me awake at night in the way that it was. Standing at the market yesterday was more demanding than I thought it would be, I had convinced myself that I was more or less back up to speed, but by the end of the morning I had well and truly had enough.

I’m keeping this very brief this week, a) because I didn’t do much last week I haven’t got very much to tell you about, and b) I can’t really be bothered. I know that sounds bad, and I don’t want to come across as sounding disrespectful nor nuthin’, but that’s just the way I feel today. So I’ll tell you about what’s available this week and then I am going to go and toast my toes in front of the aforementioned fire.

There’s not quite as much choice this week, but hopefully enough to interest you. The Isle of Wight tomatoes have come to an end for this season. Next week I might try some Spanish ones, if there are any that look worth taking a punt on. What I can offer are Brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbage and Cavolo nero, plus all of the roots – Jerusalem artichokes, beetroot, swede, parsnips, spuds, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions and leeks. Then there are red cabbage, mushrooms and squash. Avocados, lemons (small), oranges and Spartan apples are the fruit options, with the addition this week of limes.

Right that’s it, toe toasting time. I’ll see you back here this time next week, when hopefully I’ll have more to say.

Phil